My spiritual mentor and teacher at Yale Divinity School in the 1970’s, Henri J.M. Nouwen, who unexpectedly died a few years ago, was the prolific author of more than 40 books, and some of his writings were put together in an Advent booklet of meditations that I tapped into for some thoughts for this column.

The season of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas, is a time when in joyful hope we recall the first coming of Christ in the Incarnation, look forward to his Second Coming, and more personally, wait for the presence of Christ to fill our hearts in the here-and-now. Waiting is a prominent theme in Advent, and is an essential spiritual discipline.

When we anticipate and wait for the birth of Jesus in this season, what we are engaging in is not empty waiting, but waiting "with a promise in our hearts," an active, alert, joyful waiting that makes present the one for whom we are waiting. And, "as we remember him we create a community ready to welcome him when he comes." Our church family becomes this welcoming community, not only in welcoming the Christ Child, but also in opening wide our doors and our hearts to welcome all who might enter into our fellowship.

How do we wait for God? This is a tough question, particularly for those of us who are always on the go. The answer, according to Nouwen, is that we wait with patience, a tough answer for those of us who impatiently pray, "Lord, give me patience … and give it to me right now!" Waiting patiently is not like waiting for a ride or waiting for the rain to stop. Nor does it mean passivity. "It is an active waiting in which we live the present moment to the full in order to find there the signs of the One we are waiting for."

The word patience comes from a Latin word that means "to suffer." Thus, waiting patiently "is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong plants. Waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing there the first rays of God’s glorious coming."

As we wait during this Advent time for the coming of the Christ, let us do so "with a promise in our hearts," endeavoring to be a welcoming community, and being as patient as possible while observing all the results of God’s handiwork right before our eyes.

May this be a joyful season of anticipation for you and yours, and may you have a truly blessed and Merry Christmas. And may the peace given by the Prince of Peace settle upon each of us and upon our troubled world.

Shalom,

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Some are absent due to family concerns (school events, etc.)

• How do you present such well-prepared music each week if some are absent?

• It must be difficult to plan music for each Sunday if singers are absent.

• You seem to have so many singers each week. Why do you need more?

• I love to sing but am not sure I can learn the challenging music the choir sings.

• How do I become a member of the choir?

Music at Worship is a Ministry and not a performance. All of our choirs strive to minister to the congregation with our singing and ringing and hope to lift the minds and hearts of all who hear us to the praise and glory of God. In turn we minister to ourselves as well. Applause changes the meaning to a performance which is why I do not encourage it. Spontaneous applause is, of course, a praise in itself but needs to be infrequent. It is especially important that our young people understand why they participate in the Worship Service through music.

www.cranberryhospice.org/festival

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Have you seen our United Church of Christ (UCC) advertisement on television yet? I mentioned it in my column in October, and Ken discussed it in his Parson to Persons column in November. We are told that 60 percent of the US population will see the 30-second commercial three times between December 1^st and December 26^th. In this advertisement night-club type bouncers decide who shall be allowed to enter a church on Sunday morning. Then the words appear on the screen: "Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we." In the next scene a diverse group is gathering for a church family portrait and the voice-over continues: "The United Church of Christ: No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey – you’re welcome here."

The UCC is running commercials because we believe many people want to go to church, but have had a bad experience in the past. Amazingly, those running focus groups for the UCC campaign said more people expressed anger and pain over past church experiences than had expressed negative feelings about any other product they had ever tested in their focus groups! The optimism is because a recent survey on the state of the church revealed that 87 percent of Americans feel that religion is important to their lives, yet only 42 percent go to church regularly – and for half of those, attending regularly pretty much means going at Christmas and Easter. Moreover, in the focus groups people said they wanted to come back to church.

Ronald and I went to a "training session" offering many ideas for complementing the next round of the campaign, which we expect during Lent. One idea, however, seemed worthy of our contemplation immediately. It was noted people aren’t just looking for a "friendly" church, they are looking for a church where they believe they can "make friends". How can we make it evident Pilgrim is that kind of church?

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PCCP PCCP REGISTRATION FOR THE 2005-06 School year BEGINS January 10^th. For registration materials and more information please contact the PCCP Director, Michelle Manganaro, at 781-934-8145, extension 1#.

Infant, Toddler, Preschool, and Pre-Kindergarten classrooms offer quality curriculum and group activities for part time and full time schedules. Half day preschool and pre-Kindergarten classrooms 8 am until 12 noon. Full day programs for all ages provide flexible options for any family who wishes to extend hours and/or needs full time care and education. You can get more infor at PCCP's new homepage address: http://mysite.verizon.net/bizeasfb/pilgrimpreschool/ .

New this year: The PCCP is currently looking into the possibility of providing a full school day Kindergarten classroom. Such a program would provide another option to the community in a private Kindergarten setting mirroring the PCCP philosophy and standards. If you are interested in such a program, please contact Michelle at the number above or visit http://mysite.verizon.net/bizeasfb/pilgrimpreschool/ for more information.

Michelle L. Manganaro, M.Ed.
Director PCCP
PO Box 121
Duxbury, MA 02331

Monday, November 29^th, is our next date to serve a meal at the Pine Street Inn. Keith Pratt will be leading Nancy Grim, Eloise Parks and four of her confirmands on this opportunity to lend a helping hand to those in need. Then, on Thursday, December 30^th, Doug Backlund, Jan Mutchler, Risa Burr, and Debby Jewell, with three of her teen choir members, will make up the next team from Pilgrim Church. More such opportunities will be scheduled on a regular basis, so if you would like to be one of our helping hands, call Pat so that we can include you in one of these rewarding experiences.

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Sacred Sculpture

On Sunday, December 12^th, several works by the artist Bob Johnson of Cape Cod will be on display in the Church Parlor. Bob’s sculptures are based on religious themes. He works in wood, stone and bronze.

Featured is the bronze "The Flowering of Consciousness" which was conceived and commissioned by Louis Schippers, member of Pilgrim Church. It is best understood as symbolic or metaphorical art which traces the evolution of consciousness through major epochs. The base, chiseled from Vermont, black Champlain marble, represents the Ground of Being from which all consciousness arises. The roots express the gradual emergence of consciousness over millennia as the human species came "up from Eden." The flower’s numerous petals symbolize cultural world views which emerged during the thousand years before the Common Era. The flower culminates in eight petals with symbols from eight major world views which have shaped and continue to influence the modern era. The symbols represent: Christianity; Judaism; Islam; Hinduism; Buddhism; Taoism; Native American religion; and Western Science.

The focal point of these world views is the Divine, the One, identified and named differently by each tradition. This ultimate Divinity is represented as flowing down to humanity as human consciousness evolves toward It.

The sculptures will be on display following the church services until 2 PM.

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The easiest way to get your items for the bulletin and newsletter in is by submitting them by e-mail, to the church office @ secretaryofpilgrimchurch@hotmail.com. The deadline for the January newsletter is Wednesay, Dec. 15th. Call (781-934-6591) if you have any questions. Thank you - Cathy Doughty, Pilgrim Church Secretary

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Join us this month for one of our very special services! On Dec. 4^th we will be sharing a message about Advent. We will also be lighting the first of our advent candles. Communion will be shared. On Dec. 18^th, our service will be filled with Christmas Carols and Hymns as we begin to anticipate celebrating the birth of Christ. It will be a wonderful opportunity to sing some of your favorite carols and hear others sung by some great voices of our congregation, including the Teen Choir! See you then!

*COMMUNION WILL BE SHARED

PWF would like to invite our entire church family to the Annual Christmas Brunch on Dec. 12^th immediately following church. We will be serving: French Toast, Smoked Turkey with assorted breads, fresh fruit, coffee, tea, and cider. The cost is $6 per person or a maximum of $20 per family (children 4 and under eat for free!). We hope that this year will be as much fun and successful as in years past! There will be a sign up sheet in the vestry following church, or call Renee Kahl @ 585-1436.

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HOLIDAY POINSETTIAS

Nancy Cobb ,Caroline Dunham ,Eileen Jacob ,Gordon and Barbara Leach, Stephanie McRae , and Ruth Taylor